Where Are We Going? And Why Am I in This Hand Basket?

Anti-Zen lesson 2

When I wrote my first post on Anti-Zen I didn’t realize I had more bit of wisdom to share.

Today’s lesson is about feeling free to be yourself.

In Zen philosophy you should detach yourself from others’ opinions. As you allow yourself to be free you inspire others to be free.

Isn’t that lovely? It never helped me, not once.

I have writer brain. This means that I can get to a place where I am imagining all the different inner dialogs strangers could be having about me. Of course they care about me and what I’m doing. See how the universe spins? That’s me in the middle. Yep, right there.
So how did I overcome my fears? Well honestly I haven’t but I do have an anti-Zen saying that helps me.

No matter what I do, someone will hate it, think its stupid, or laugh. I can’t control this, but I also don’t have to live for that person because if I’m standing and watching others dance or on the floor getting my freak on (I have several friends who are now banning me from using this phrase BTW) someone will be judging me or wondering why it is I’m doing something. I can’t control this so I might as well have fun.

I must admit I really only have to worry about other writers. In conversations with my normal friends, i.e. non-writers, apparently they don’t stand in line at the grocery store and wonder why someone is wearing that outfit. They also don’t watch body language and create intricate relationships for strangers at restaurants.

So maybe my new anti-Zen philosophy should be, as long as there aren’t any writers nearby no one cares what you’re doing, so go and have fun. And if there are writers, have fun anyway you might inspire a character in their next novel!

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About alicamckennajohnson

Alica McKenna Johnson writes about snarky girls, kind boys, and the adults trying to keep them alive. After day dreaming for the first thirty years of life, Alica finally began writing her stories down, much to the delight of her readers. As Alica sits in her armchair at home dreaming of traveling the world, her diverse characters explore for her listening to music, seeing the sights, and eating exotic foods.

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maybe i am a writer! lol i am always worried about what others are thinking… about me. i mean i know they aren’t, but i can’t seem to help thinking they are. and i am thinking about them too. too much about them, like i am spending waaaay too much of my time thinking about other people thinking about me. lol

You do what I wish I could do, i.e. watch other people, see how they talk, what they’re wearing, what they’re talking about. I don’t observe people enough. I use my well of memories to create my characters but I know I could really add to that by taking care to observe others every day.
Thank you, Alica.

My dad loves people watching- he sits in bookstores drinking coffee and just watches people go by on the street- of course he gets to watch people in the San Fransisco Bay Area- so he gets to have extra fun 🙂
Thanks Patti.

How funny, Alica. I do exactly the same thing. I watch people and make up stories for them. I’ve always assumed everyone was watching me, too. LOL Yep. It’s crowded here at the center of the universe. 🙂

I love this: “…as long as there aren’t any writers nearby no one cares what you’re doing, so go and have fun. And if there are writers, have fun anyway you might inspire a character in their next novel!”

“In conversations with my normal friends, i.e. non-writers, apparently they don’t stand in line at the grocery store and wonder why someone is wearing that outfit. They also don’t watch body language and create intricate relationships for strangers at restaurants.”